AI Data Centers Push Silicon Photonics Toward 300-mm Scale

STMicroelectronics and Sicoya show how industrializing photonics depends as much on packaging as optical performance.

By Pat Brans, EE Times | July 16, 2026

As AI clusters expand from racks to rows of accelerators, data movement is becoming as critical as compute itself. Data centers need faster links—and that can be provided by photonics. But the optical engines must be producible in volume, packaged compactly, and tested reliably. Moreover, it needs to be integrated close enough to compute to reduce the power and signal losses associated with copper.

STMicroelectronics (ST) bets the next phase of silicon photonics will be shaped by that industrialization challenge. The company is ramping its PIC100 silicon photonics platform on 300-mm wafers while developing the packaging and electrical integration capabilities needed to move optical interconnects closer to processors and switch ASICs.

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